It is now common practice to mount lamps, such as LEDs, on flat surfaces such as substrates. LEDs, particularly those designed for surface mounting have shells that are typically cylindrical in shape with the top portion formed to allow light from the LED elements to escape. Contacts, typically constructed from a metal stamping, extend outward from the bottom portion of the lamp shell. These contacts add height to the structure and thus are not practical where space is limited.
In addition, in order to gain stability for the lamp (i.e., preventing the lamp from wobbling or being mounted in a “tipped” position), there must be a relatively wide physical connection between the lamp and the mounting surface. To achieve such stability it is necessary to bend the contacts to form pads for support purposes. Such bending is costly from a manufacturing point of view and unless each contact of a lamp is precisely bent, so that the bottom surfaces of each contact are in the same plane, the lamp will tip one way or the other.